Yeah, I figure the chances of finding the thing diminish with time. Eventually the shreds of the balloon and the parachute will deteriorate, and it will be really tough to find the payload.

If we have a break in the wx on Memorial Day, I might be able to get out there again. With my speed (or lack thereof) I need three days to really make a search of it. It's 9 miles give or take into the falls area. If I take the west ridge, I think I can get up behind the falls and find a camp site somewhere above the falls in one day. On day two I could conduct a full search and then return to my camp above the falls. On day three I'd hike out.

A fast person might be able to get in and out in one day if they a) take the Walthier Road in and b) use the west ridge approach instead of Stairmaster Ridge as I did.

Very cool trip. This looks like the kind of thing I would go for also.

I've come across a couple of the boxes attached to the "real" weather balloons in the desert in the past. There were in dry areas, but from the look of things and type of box they had been there for many years (decades?). I left them in place. Maybe I should go back periodically to see if they are still there and check condition.